


What Happens in <Classified> Stays <Redacted>

by Hasty85



Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Zeta Project
Genre: Bad Decisions, Consensual Underage Sex, Gen, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Wedding, Mutual Pining, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 00:32:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13329717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hasty85/pseuds/Hasty85
Summary: Zee tries to find a vacationing scientist in Las Vegas while Ro's just trying to find a good time.  The Lance-Queens meanwhile are set to have a memorable vacation. Bennett's probably going to have to burn this report.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Cross posted at Fanfiction.net. (And while there IS underage sex, I'm not warning for it because it takes place offstage. Read at your own risk.. Oh, yeah, the Mandarin translates to "Having a good time, pretty bird?" Dinah's reply is "I was until you showed up."

“It just doesn't feel like Christmas,” Ro muttered, looking around the city. She'd really enjoyed last Christmas, when they'd stayed at a cabin in Minnesota, far, far north and undisturbed. (Except for the 'dress Ro up as the Christmas tree' incident, and the subsequent epic pillow fight.) But this..who spent Christmas in Vegas? She was kind of looking forward to trying out the new ID, though Zee had told her to be cautious about alcohol. But the rest..it seemed so tawdry. Especially the day after Christmas.  
“Subtracting one element doesn't tarnish the rest,”Zee said. “It's still Christmas, with or without snow.”  
“I suppose you're right. I think I like the blue gown the best, what do you think?”  
“It is nice,” Zee agreed. Ro rolled her eyes and headed to the bathroom. Zee faced the mirror and began to tinker. A double-breasted suit, black, but very slightly veering toward purple, a lilac dress shirt, no tie. He eyed his face critically and added more lines, aging the face to an apparent early thirties. He frowned and added a hint of muscle to his frame, thickening the neck and jaw a little.  
“I hope you're not planning to go to the dance like that,” Ro teased. “You look like Batman must look under that cowl. If he spent a month on protein shakes.”  
“Batman's only a year older than you,” Zee said mildly, adjusting the holo.>  
Ro giggled. “You're serious?”  
“Yes. He and Max are in the same class. And the first Batman's a lot older than this.”  
Ro frowned. “You told me that if we had to separate, I should contact Bruce Wayne.”  
Zee sighed. “I'd rather not talk about this in an unsecured location. Later, I promise.”  
“Ok, but how did you even find out?”  
“I saw Batman's face for a second when we were in Gotham. It was confirmation of what I already knew, though.”  
“Huh. So, if you aren't dancing, what are you doing?”  
“Playing find the scientist. Dr Katzman should be here. And if she's not, I'm hoping Dinah Lance-Queen will be. She's honorable and trustworthy, she'll be a great mentor for you.”  
“Not this again.”  
“Yes, this again. You're already almost seventeen; I can't take you with me once you turn eighteen. You'll be an adult, and as such, you can legally be held responsible for all the help you've given me. Believe me, I'm grateful. But I know what they'll do, I've seen it before and I won't let that happen to you.”  
At best, she'd spend decades in jail. At worst, they'd just kill her or make her disappear. They'd done that to some of the people Zee had captured. Ro was small and pretty-jail for her would be something like hell, even with the self-defense training she'd had. So, the only option was to get her to somebody who could protect her. Somebody who was both trustworthy, rich, and had enough experience playing both sides of the law that they wouldn't mind hiding a fugitive. The number of people on that list was very, very, small.  
Wade Pennington was an option, but he was too young to be able to help much. He didn't know the right strings to pull, and neither did his parents. Terry and Max were also too young. They could keep an eye on her, but they couldn't be surrogate parents. And they didn't have assets of their own.  
Of the five on the short list, Zee had settled on Bruce Wayne, Dinah Lance-Queen, and Richard Foley as his three main choices. He wasn't very sure about Wayne: he trusted Terry and Max, but one of the few things Wayne wasn't good at was parenting. Luckily Ro didn't need parenting so much as she needed a shield. Terry could probably minimize the damage done by Wayne.  
Lance-Queen he knew only by reputation. Black Canary was feared by her foes and loved by her friends. She had a fierce sense of duty and an even fiercer temper. Ro would be in good hands. It did slightly worry him that Lance-Queen was still friends with Barbara Gordon.  
If Commissioner Gordon had a fault, it was that she took things personally. Like say, having two women kidnapped under her nose, and the NSA getting underfoot. (He had enjoyed the email exchange after the Mad Stan incident. Gordon had a way with words, and the emails had been so caustic he half expected the computer to catch fire.) He half suspected she'd been thinking about grooming Max for the Batgirl suit.  
Richard Foley had been involved in the Zeta Project. Zee hoped that the connection there to Selig, Foley's mentor, would be strong enough to convince him to take Ro in. Dakota was a little unsafe, still, but there were worse places. If Ro did end up with powers, she'd have no shortage of mentors. Including Gear's daughter, Rocket.  
00  
“Hit me,” Dinah Lance-Queen said, sparing her card a brief glance. Honestly, she didn't come for the gambling. She liked people watching, and right now she was watching the newest occupant of the blackjack table. He looked like a straight up thug, but his body language said something different.  
He was coiled, ready to strike.  
If this guy is another one of Talia's pet ninjas, I swear I'm going to break at least five bones and send him back in a box, she thought darkly. With airholes, she wasn't a monster. She'd run into military before; this guy might be a merc, but she didn't think so.  
The man nodded to her, toasting her with a glass, before turning back to the dealer and getting another card. He'd made his own assessment, clearly. Dinah was an old hand at knowing the difference between someone checking her out and someone evaluating how hard she might be to beat. She might have gone gray with age, but she still had her cry and her skills. Old age had been kind to her, anyway.  
“Wán dé kāixīn, piàoliang de xiǎo niǎo?” he asked. Dinah nearly dropped her drink. One, most people didn't know Mandarin, and two, there was no way he should have known that name.  
“Wǒ zhídào, nǐ chūxiànle,” she snapped.  
He smiled, tapped out, and scooped up his winnings. “Shall we? I think we have some things to talk about.”  
“I swear to god, if you are with the League of Shadows, I'll kick you halfway to Hong Kong.”  
Zee's expression turned serious. “I'm not. Like your husband, I worked for the government. Though at a considerably less glamorous job.”  
“If this is one of Waller's things..”  
He actually had to dig to remember that. Oh, that Waller.  
“Amanda Waller, hardly. She was all about the personal, human touch. Wrong agency, in any case.I worked for the National Security Agency. She worked for the FBI.”  
“You're Zeta.”  
He nodded. Of course she knew. If she hadn't heard his name from Barbara, she'd probably heard of him from one of the other heroes. Batman hadn't quite gotten the hang of networking yet, but Zee would be very surprised if a few heroes weren't tracking him very carefully. He already knew Static was aware of him. The man covered his tracks fairly well, but he'd clearly wanted to put Zee on notice.  
“I'm afraid I can't help you.”  
“If you know about me, then you must know about my traveling companion. I'm asking for help for her, not me.”  
She hadn't seen that coming. Interesting.  
“What could I possibly do for her that you can't?”  
“Keep her safe. Until now, the NSA has been willing to overlook Ro's actions, but she'll be eighteen soon. At best, she'd spend decades in jail, just for helping me.”  
“Is this your decision or hers?”  
“Mine. She's willing to take the risk, but I'm not willing to let her.”  
“Hmm,” Dinah's lips thinned. On one hand, she could see his point. On the other hand, she was inclined to support Rowan; she should have a choice too.  
“Why does she stay with you?” Dinah asked.  
“I have no idea,” Zee admitted. “Ro says..a lot of different things. That it's better than being alone, mostly. I have to agree. I used to like being alone but now it feels wrong. Like I'm missing a limb I didn't even know I had.”  
He hated admitting it, but he'd spent a lot of late nights mulling over that problem, and still didn't have an adequate answer.  
“It sounds to me like you're in love with her,” Dinah teased. “And it might be mutual.  
“Don't be silly,” Zee scoffed. “I just..like her, that's all. I don't have a heart.”  
Or genitals, or hormones or anything that made pair-bonding such a thing among humans. Most of the time, he didn't mind not having those distractions. Sometimes the drives of humans got on his nerves. Given a choice between attending a high-school study session again or being thrown into a pit of weasels in heat, he'd prefer the weasels. But sometimes, when he caught Ro sneaking looks at some handsome man, or a boy or girl admiring her, or someone admiring him, he wondered.  
“Neither did Red Tornado or Platinum-well not in the biological sense. Reddy was actually married, and Platinum was absolutely devoted to Will Magnus. I wonder what happened to him?”  
Zee noticed that Dinah had been subtly herding him toward the bar. Of course Green Arrow was here. He didn't worry about Zatanna. She was preparing for the big show, and was, in any case, not a threat.  
“Got bored with blackjack?” Oliver Queen asked.  
“Hardly. Ollie, this is Zeta.”  
“Nice to meet you,” Oliver said, sticking his hand out. Zee shook it, glad that Oliver was too smart to try the old 'squeeze-til-it-hurts' trick. “What in the world are you doing in Vegas?”  
“Looking for a couple of people. One of them was her”- he indicated Dinah- “And the other's a Dr. Emily Katzmann.”  
“She works in AI, right?”  
“That's right. Specifically, improving processor speed and insulating computer cores from electrical damages.”  
Oliver snapped his fingers. “Right, right. She works in St. Roch. Why aren't you asking Lightning? She'd know.”  
Queen Industries had tried to hire Katzmann at least twelve times, Zee recalled.  
“I'd rather avoid Ms. Pierce. Don't get up, please. Yes, I have access to League records. No, I'm not interested in using those for my own gain, nor do I have any intention of blackmailing anyone.”  
“What are you interested in then?” Oliver asked.  
“Avoiding the League entirely. Static, Lightning, Superman and Power Woman specifically. One of the few things I'm vulnerable to is EMPs, and both Static and Lightning can generate those.”  
“What about Zatanna? Or me?” Dinah asked.  
“Zatanna and her son are unknowns. I'm not sure if I can be affected by magic. Ro might be affected.  
As for you..do you want an honest opinion?”  
“Please,” Dinah said. “I know I'm old, but I'm still in good shape.”  
“That's true, but I've been engineered to be faster, stronger, and sturdier than a human. Even at your peak, you couldn't beat me. That said, if we have time, I would really enjoy sparring with you.”  
“Careful, I might take you up on that,” Dinah said, chuckling.  
“Who's Ro?” Ollie asked.  
“I have a..friend who travels with me. She's down at the dance. Actually, that's why I was looking for Ms. Lance-Queen in the first place.”  
“He wants us- well, me- to look after her,” Dinah explained.  
“If she's here, she's old enough to look after herself, isn't she?” Ollie asked.  
“I'm guessing she's got a faked ID, right Zeta?” Dinah said, grinning.  
“Not exactly. It's actually a real driver's license, with some things.. suitably edited.”  
Dinah rolled her eyes. “Natch. Well, it's a step up from kidnapping.”  
“That's a cheap shot,” Zee snapped. “I was a different person back then.”  
He stalked off, looking for his next quarry. He was half tempted to go down to the dance, but stopped himself. Ro deserved some fun, and he shouldn't get in the way.  
Ollie let out a low whistle. “Don't scare me like that, Pretty Bird.”  
“Oh, I knew he wouldn't try anything.”  
“Some killer robot. Think that was Gear's idea? That's a really cute way to screw with the NSA.”  
She blinked at Ollie. She hadn't considered Zee's conversion might be sabotage.  
“I dunno. It's not Gear's style, though he does follow the first rule of engineers almost religiously. Zeta's nothing like Barbara said. I wonder if that girl he travels with might be a metahuman after all.”  
The rumor among the hero community was that Ro could affect tech and bend it to her will. Dinah suspected Dr. Caitlin Fairchild had started that rumor among the capes. She'd done that sort of thing before; last time it'd resulted in the Penguin's death, as Cheshire took immediate and lethal offense to the rumor that Penguin had mistreated her daughter. Not that Oswald Cobblepot was any great loss, but Dinah found it offensive that Fairchild would play fast and loose with someone's life like that.  
“You know, I've been thinking about redecorating our house. Free up a bedroom or two, just in case.”  
“What, you think we'll get a teenager express-mailed to us?” Dinah teased.  
Zee might do just that. She couldn't get a reliable read on him and that worried her.  
Oliver shrugged. “Weirder things have happened. I mean seriously, I got possessed once, you got haunted by a revenge-seeking ghost, and a time traveler broke into our house. And I'm not even going to bring up that one time with dimension hopping Nazis. Or the time I died.”  
“Gold didn't break in, he just had his robot buddy shoot out the locks.”  
That had been shortly after Sue Dibney's death. She'd felt sorry for Booster afterward, but the man had the worst timing. The whole League had been on alert back then, and as it was, Booster was lucky that Ollie and Connor had missed anything vital. (And that the tinnitus had worn off in a week or so..)  
“Still counts.”  
00  
“More champagne?” the waiter asked. Ro considered the idea carefully. She was kinda giddy already, after one small flute and half of Vanni's. Giovani Zatara, that was. She had an idea she'd heard his last name somewhere. She'd been dancing and flirting with him for the last hour, and was thinking that he was very, very cute. He had black hair, blue eyes, and a slim build.  
“I think I'd rather have some sparkling water,” she said finally.  
“Same for me,” Vanni said cheerfully. “That stuff hits hard, doesn't it, Rosemary?”  
“I like Ro better, honestly.”  
He nodded, grinning. “Sorry. I get it. It's the same for me. You know, in a while, most of these people are going to get stupid drunk. Wanna do something else?”  
Ro had a pretty good idea what the something else was. She rolled that around in her head for a minute while taking another sip of her mineral water.  
She hadn't had any opportunities recently to just fool around with someone. It didn't help matters that Zee didn't have any interest in that sort of game. Oh, they'd messed around a bit, since Zee liked it when Ro was happy, but Ro could tell when he was simply humoring her.  
“Your room or..oops, forgot,” she said, quickly thumbing the cellphone open and sending a text. Out late, don't wait up, see you tomorrow. There. That would keep Zee from doing anything stupid. Like, say, tearing the hotel apart in a search for non-existent kidnappers, or yelling for Batman.  
“Problem,” Vanni asked.  
“My older brother,” she said, rolling her eyes. “He's a bit overprotective.”  
“Tell me about it. See the blond guy with the biceps by the door and the black-haired girl on the other side of the room? Those are my overprotective siblings. We aren't even blood relations and yet I guarantee you that Sin will be breaking into your room tomorrow.”  
“Adopted?”  
“Naw, just raised together. Connor and Sin's mom and my mom are like sisters. Been through thick and thin and weirdness together.”  
“So, your room or the supply closet?” she teased.  
“My room. Gotta make the gossip shows work for their money,” he joked.  
00  
Zee's search for Katzmann had turned up nothing. A quick check on the net confirmed that she was staying at another hotel until New Year's Eve. He would rather not stay that long, though he knew the agents would be delayed. Bennett wasn't an unreasonable man. He liked to spend Christmas at home, so if Zee didn't appear in the weeks leading up to the 25th, he'd simply send the team home. It was one of the few aspects Zee liked about his former handler.  
And that left Zee with one burning question: where was Ro? He'd gotten the text message, but nothing after that. Ro had probably found someone she liked at the dance, and Zee wasn't sure how he felt about that. Whoever it was had better treat her nicely. Zee tried to be nice, he really did, but some people just didn't learn until their bones were healing up.  
He sighed. Clearly he needed to update his anti-virals, as something had to be in his system and wreaking havoc on his processors. He was jealous. Not of the person, but of all the things they could do for Ro that he simply couldn't. He'd never really kissed anyone, except as a way to further a mission, and he always wondered what it would be like to do that and mean it. What would it be like to have a family, children for real and not for pretend?


	2. That I cannot erase

Author's note: I don't own this. Theme is "Sing to Me' by Delain. Since a few people seem confused, let me point out that this is crossposted at Ff net. So, basically no smut. I mean, I WILL write Zee/Ro smut if there's any interest (HINT) but it'll be in a different story. (Or outtakes, if there's interest.) Oh, and the spells are, in order 'Clothes for the pretty lady,' "flowers for the lady,' and 'show yourself Zeta.' Please bear with me, I'm new to the site.

 

Zee was up and prowling the corridors of the hotel early. There was a gym in the hotel; while he couldn't wear himself out, he could keep himself busy by remembering the forms. He hadn't heard from Ro this morning, and he was trying not to freak out.

He'd contacted Max, who had given the unhelpful advice of 'chill.' He'd taught Ro some self-defense moves, and while she was good at precise, painful strikes, she'd always be at a disadvantage. Even more so if she'd been slipped something. He would've ground his teeth in frustration like Bennett did, if he had teeth. He tried to respect Ro, but she was so delicate compared to him. They'd been lucky so far. If anything happened to her, he might have to seriously rethink the no-killing thing.

“Vanni, shouldn't you be in your-oh,I'm sorry,” a young woman with cropped black hair said. He recognized her. Sin Lance-Queen, Dinah and Oliver's adopted daughter. “You look a lot like my friend.”

“I get that a lot,” Zee said neutrally. “I'm looking for a friend of mine too. You haven't seen her, have you? Blonde, about so high?”

“Maybe. A lot of blue-eyed blondes in this town, some of 'em are even born that way. But I think I saw the one you're looking for. Keep me company?”

He nodded and fell into step with her. She was short, but had an easy swinging pace that ate a surprising amount of distance. Even if he hadn't known who she was, her stance, posture and stride would have given her away. Sin Lance, the current Black Canary. 

“I didn't see you last night,” she said.

“I was up in the casino. Your mother is a lovely and dangerous woman.”

“Ah. I think Mom did mention that. You must be a master of disguise, because you look nothing like the guy she met.”

Point to Dinah, he thought. Of course she'd briefed her kids. He was lucky Dinah hadn't used her power. The Canary Cry wouldn't affect him like it would a human, but it could cause a bit of damage. It would also attract attention, which he was trying to avoid. Sin's wouldn't be as strong, since she'd had her throat   
and genes modified, rather than being born with powers, but best not to find out.  
Sin punched the elevator button, checking to make sure they were alone before she spoke again.

“So what are you here for? You don't strike me as a guy who likes to gamble.”

“I could be here for the show.”

“Mm, maybe. You're not the weirdest of Aunt Zatanna's fans.”

He let the remark slide. He had a hard time imagining why people would pay to be tricked by other humans. Politicians did that for free. He wasn't here for Zatanna anyway.

“Hey,” Sin said, tapping him on the shoulder. He recoiled, as a number of systems suddenly snapped alert. “You OK?”

“I'm fine. Just..don't do that again, ever,” he said. He forced himself to mime an inhale. Taking a deep breath would be nice, actually. 

She held up her hands in mock surrender. “Got it. No touching.”  
00  
How many times have I told Tiffy I like to sleep alone, Ro thought muzzily. Tiffy got frightened by thunderstorms and often tried to share Ro's bed. Then Ro remembered that she hadn't lived with Tiffy for years, and that that was a guy on the other side. A naked guy. Ro turned beet red as memories of last night came flooding back. 

Yow, hormones and champagne were a bad mix. She closed her eyes and cataloged the damage. Ok, that was where the medicine cabinet had dug into her back, at one point she should have had a bruise from rolling into the night stand (had he really kissed it better? Was dying from embarrassment a thing?), and that slight sting was from muscles that had gone unused for months. 

The guy yawned and rolled over. “Oh, hi. Rose, right?”  
“Close enough,” she said. “Morning, Vanni.”

“You wanna stay a bit? I can at least get breakfast. And there's coffee. Good coffee. Or we could go for another round?”  
Ro turned bright red, as a furious banging erupted from the suite's living room.

“Or not,” he sighed. “If that's Sin, I should probably let her in before she decides to pick the lock.”  
He knew it wasn't Connor. Connor was allergic to doors.

“Maybe you should put something on first?” Ro squeaked. “Or..uh, where are my clothes.”  
“Oh, I can help with that,” Vanni grinned. “Setholc rof eht ytterp ydal.”  
Ro's dress, stockings, shoes, and underthings fluttered over. Ro stared, awestruck.

“How did you do that?” she demanded, gesturing at the clothes.  
“Magic,” Vanni grinned, booping her on the nose. “I'll handle the guests. And feel free to stay if you want.”  
He grabbed his boxers and a pair of pants. Ro winced at the lines on his shoulders. She'd totally done that.  
00  
“Vanni,” Sin said, crossing her arms. “Where's the girl?”  
“Rose? Um..” Vanni glanced toward the bedroom.

“Did you hurt her?” Zee asked, tensing slightly. There were a number of ways he could hurt this young man. Vanni was slightly built, and the way he held himself suggested he had had little training in any sort of martial art. Which made sense, since Zatanna usually preferred not to engage in physical scuffles. Slight of hand would not help here.

“What?” Vanni said. “Oh, no. At least I don't think so. I mean, the night stand will probably never be the same again, but she seemed fine.”  
“What?” Sin asked, laughing.

“At some point she rolled into the nightstand. I don't know why anyone thinks satin sheets are a good idea.”

Sin stuffed her fist into her mouth, trying not to laugh again.   
“Not what I meant,” Zee growled. 

“Look, she seemed pretty into it, and I know we were a couple of drinks in, but we weren't drunk. What business is it of yours, anyway?”  
“She's my sister. Her name's Rosalie, and she's sixteen.”  
Vanni blinked. “I think you have the wrong room.”

Ro barrelled into the room, fully dressed, if a little disheveled.   
“Honestly, Zee,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “I said I was fine.”  
“You got drunk and he took advantage of it. I don't call that fine.”

Ro sighed. “No, that's not what happened. I was a little tanked, but if anyone took advantage, it was me.”  
“Wait, you're sixteen?” Vanni asked. “How'd you even get in?”  
“Oh, come oonn,” Sin groaned. “Connor and I had fake ids for every day of the week. It's not that hard to get one.”  
“I hacked the DMV,” Zee said. 

“Now, that's something we never thought of,” Sin said thoughtfully.  
“Nice to meet you..uh, Sin, was it,” Ro said, “But we really should get going.”  
Vanni muttered, “Srewolf rof eth ydal.”  
He bowed and presented the bouquet to Ro. “I am so sorry, Miss. I hope you'll come to our show on New Years. I..um, must have misunderstood.”  
“You didn't,” Ro assured him. She pointed at Zee. “He's the one who misunderstood.”  
She tugged at Zee's arm and towed him down the hall.   
“What were you thinking?” she snapped at Zee. “That was the best guy I've met in..ever.”  
“I worry about you. That's all. You're sure about what happened last night?”  
“Zee, Vanni didn't rape me. Everything that happened, I wanted it as much as he did. Chill.”  
“He's nearly ten years older than you!”  
“So? Guys my own age are boring. Not you, but mostly they're..dumb.”

And lacking in hygiene, stamina, and any sort of anatomical knowledge, she thought, remembering Slam. In a way she was relieved they were arguing. She liked Vanni, but she was uncomfortably aware that he looked a lot like Zee. And maybe that played a role in why she'd been so willing. (Well, that, and he turned out to be really good with his hands..oh. Giovanni Zatara. Oh, no.) At least arguing kept her from analyzing last night.

“I'm not sixteen,” Zee pointed out.   
“I know that. You've never even picked a birthday.”

“Does it matter?”  
“Yes it does!” she said with unexpected bitterness. “Oh, forget it. It's one of those human things you'd never understand.”  
Zee at least had never forgotten her birthday.  
“Let's get back to the subject,” Zee muttered. “He seems nice enough, but..well, he's an adult and you aren't. Yet. He could easily exploit that. I'm just trying to protect you.”  
“You're just jealous!”  
That stung. She could tell. Zee still wasn't very good at emotions. He was good at acting, but he wasn't good at identifying his feelings or why he was feeling that way.

“Maybe,” he conceded. He waited until they were in the elevator and then leaned in close.

“Is there any possibility you could be pregnant?”  
Ro shook her head vehemently. She'd checked the trash just to confirm her memory.   
“He doesn't want kids any more than I do. We both took precautions.”

Zee could, and did, steal birth control for her. Though, 'steal' wasn't exactly the right word. More like liberated excess inventory. It was an article of faith among some foster kids that CPS showed up in the hospital room if the parent had ever been in the system. She only half-believed it, but she sure as heck wasn't gonna be a teenage mom.Or raise the kid in jail. If she ever had kids, it was gonna be when she was untouchable.

“Hey,” she said. “You ever thought about..well, later? The whole nine-to-five, happy families thing?”  
“Not really,” Zee said. “Why, have you?”  
“No. Aside from wanting to be stupid stinking rich. Maybe a lawyer. You?”  
He shook his head. He wanted what Dolan had, but no one would ever trust him with a child. And asking Ro, or anyone to marry him wasn't fair to them. Ro deserved so much better.  
“Never thought about it,” he lied.   
00  
After what was possibly the most awkward morning of her life, Ro finally persuaded Zee to go to the mall. He always felt better after he gravved. It occurred to her that she didn't know how old he actually was. Zee might be a fair bit younger than the kids he was currently mingling with. Max, in Gotham, had admitted that she didn't know either. 

In some of her more insecure moments, Ro hoped that the older girl was actually loathsome in person, because otherwise Max had the edge on her in every way. Smarter, a total computer geek, and incidentally, she had a larger bust size than Ro. Not that Zee cared about that, really.

A pair of women came up behind her and Ro automatically sized them up. The younger woman had some traces of black in her hair still, while the older one was all gray, but had a lively youthful energy to her.

“I was hoping we'd run into you,” the gray-haired woman said. “I'm Dinah Lance-Queen, this is Zatanna Zatara. Zee, this is Rosalie Rowan, the kid I was telling you about.”  
“Charmed,” Ro choked out. She really, really hoped Zatanna didn't know what Vanni had been up to last night. “Listen, I'd love to chat, but I'm waiting on someone. Zee just went into the tube.”

“That's no problem,” Dinah smiled. “Zatanna, why don't you meet him and catch up with us.”  
Zatanna signed something, which Dinah returned with a quick, airy flick of her fingers.  
“Oh, what does Zee look like?” Zatanna asked. She was beginning to suspect Dinah had suckered her into another mission.

“Currently, he's black-haired, blue-eyed, and about this high,” Ro said, indicating. “He's wearing a purple hoodie and purple pants.”  
“He seems to have a theme going,” Dinah said. “And we'll get coffee. Anything you want in particular, Zee?”  
“Americano with two shots of espresso,” Zatanna said. Ro tried not to flinch at the nickname. “Extra whipped cream.”

“Great,” Dinah said. She grabbed Ro's hand, towing her through the crowd. “Kid, don't try to break free or I will snap that wrist. Last thing I need is a fuss.”

“This was a setup,” Ro grumbled.  
“Of course.”  
“Are you police? Or FBI?”  
Dinah gave a short bark of laughter. “FBI? Heck, no. I'm Justice League. Retired, as a matter of fact.”  
“Should we really be talking about that?”  
“Like anyone's listening. I was contacted this morning, told where and when to meet you.”  
“Why?”

“Because I wanted to get your side of the story. I had a run in with Zeta last night. And then Sin told me about this morning. I should be giving you the whole song and dance about how older men are generally bad news, but I did worse when I was your age. I mean, Corrigan was technically dead; he just hadn't stopped moving and breathing yet.”

“I thought that was the definition of dead.”

“Well, most people are usually dead when they get encased in cement and thrown into a river. Jim just got a mulligan.”

“I like Vanni, you know. He's a good guy.”  
“I hear a 'but' in there somewhere.”

“I don't think I like him as much as he liked me.”

“On that note, why do you stay with Zeta? As far as I can tell, you're not a hostage.”  
Ro shrugged. “I don't have anywhere else to go.”  
“What about your family?”  
“What family?”

“Oh. My bad. But you know, we could be family, if you wanted. Once Ollie retires, he and I will be rattling around like peas in a big pod. The kids all have their own places. Never mind your own room, you could have a whole floor. Helena and Barbara could easily get you a new identity; I haven't seen the thing they couldn't forge.”

“I don't think I'm one of Barbara Gordon's favorite people.”

“You're not the one she has it in for. Unless you behaved very badly in Gotham.”  
“I punched a Joker and helped stop a mad bomber.”  
Dinah grinned and feigned a low punch. “See, that's practically community service. How that man ever got a tribute gang..”

“Aren't the Captain Colds a tribute gang too?” Ro asked.

“Yeah, but them I don't mind. Snart had principles.”

“Why me?” Ro asked.

“Aside from the fact that I was asked, I think you'd do just fine in my line of work. I saw you sparring with Zeta. You were good, even though he was clearly holding back. I've read the reports too; you're smart and think on your feet-I'm surprised no one's tried to recruit you.”

She thought about it. Maybe they had, or were about to. Fairchild was surprisingly sneaky. And Zee would be an asset to anyone's organization. Which..oh, well-played, Dr. Fairchild. That was what the rumor had been about. Fairchild hoped to flush Zee out of hiding and then recruit both of them. 

Ro laughed. “Oh, yeah, you fell off the treadmill.”

“Laugh it up, kiddo, my tailbone still hurts.You know why he wants this, don't you?”

“Yeah, but I'm not leaving. We've been together for nearly two years now, and I'm not going anywhere.”

Dinah sighed. “Well, I tried. Give me your phone, though. If you need a pal, don't hesitate to call.”

She entered a phone number and passed the phone back. “I'm under B.C. What do you want?”

Ro pointed at the projected ad. “That!”  
Dinah grimaced. Her pancreas hurt just looking at the ad.  
“That's not coffee. That's a shake without ice cream.”  
“It has coffee in it,” Ro pointed out.  
“Doubt it, I think they just wave the grounds over it.”

“May I take your order?” the barista said.  
“Sure. Two Americanos, the cookies and cream abomination, and..uh..”  
“A cup of cider,” Ro said quickly.  
“Uh, so that's one hot cider, one cookies and cream mocha and two americanos,” the barista repeated.   
Dinah waved Ro off when she tried to pay. “Trust me, I'm good for it. Go grab a seat.”

00  
Zatanna, meanwhile, was beginning to think things had gone badly wrong. She'd retrieved Zee from the press of kids, and had immediately noticed he wasn't like the others. She could usually sense people's auras, but Zee didn't have one, which was jarring. To her other sight, he simply wasn't there. 

He had less presence than some ghosts she knew. He wasn't an elemental, a demon or an angel, he certainly wasn't a fellow practitioner and being around him made her brain itch.

“Where's Ro?” he asked.

“She and Dinah left to get coffee.”

“Good, I'm glad they have a chance to talk. You must be Zatanna Zatara.”

“And who are you?”

“Zee. Since that's your nickname as well, you can call me Zeta if you'd prefer.”

“Your parents named you Zeta? And I thought I had it rough.”

He gave her a completely blank look and then bounded off in a random direction. (Apparently random, she had no way of knowing he'd been listening for Ro's voice.) She huffed resignedly and followed him. She hoped Dinah would clear things up.  
00  
“Oh, good, you found us,” Dinah said, cheerfully. 

“He found you,” Zatanna said, indicating Zee. “How, I don't know.”

“I can track a voice I recognize easily, if I focus,” Zee said. “And I have very good hearing.”

Zatanna regarded him quizzically. “You're not actually eight, are you?”

Dinah coughed, “Zee, he's actually a robot.”

“Oh..well, that explains a lot.How good is your hearing?”

Zatanna slid in next to Dinah and grabbed the one remaining coffee. Zee slid in next to Ro but didn't touch the cider.

Zee shrugged. “About the length of a football field. I can filter enough to track specific people. In this case, Ro. And it's synthoid, if you don't mind, Ms. Lance-Queen.”

Ro's lips twitched. For some reason, Zee got really weird about the R-word. 

“That's really adorable. Weird, but adorable,” Dinah declared, grinning. “Although..why weren't you tracking her this morning?”

Zee looked down. “I couldn't focus enough. If I don't focus, voices get lost in the ambient noise.”

Zatanna was about to ask what happened that morning, when Dinah kicked her gently in the shin.  
“I assume you're staying for the show, Ms. Lance-Queen?”

“My friends call me Dinah,” Dinah corrected. “And yes, I am.”

“Good, that'll give us time to move Ro's things over to your suite.”

“Sorry, Tin Man, me and my things are staying right where they are,” Ro said, cheerfully. She was still quite mad about that. Zee didn't get to make decisions for her. But she'd save that argument for later.

“What? Dinah, you were supposed to..” Zee sputtered.

Dinah took a quick drink of her coffee. 

“I said I'd talk to Ro first. She decided she's happy where she is, and I'm not in the kidnapping business.”

“What about Sin?”

“Sin was six, not sixteen, and she wanted to leave,” Dinah replied, with some heat. “Besides, I'd think you'd have a little sympathy, given your history. I thought you were all about free will.”

“That is low,” Zee growled.

“Low blows'r'us, that's me,” Dinah said, stretching a little. “I could make you a counter-offer. Both of you go with me to Star City. We could maybe persuade the NSA to back off- that, or bury 'em in lawyers.”

“I don't think that's going to work, unless you can somehow produce Dr. Eli Selig. Maybe Ms. Zatara could help?” Zee suggested.  
Zatanna looked uncertain. “I'd need something more than just his name. Something that belonged to him, something he'd handled.”

Zee pointed to himself. “He built me.”

Zatanna shook her head. “Wouldn't work. You're not linked to anything. You're more like an elemental than an artifact.”  
She did wonder what would happen if she lobbed a spell at him. Now, there was an idea. Nothing offensive; fireballs and lightning bolts were out of the question. Aside from the damage to him, she couldn't risk hurting people in the shop. A scrying spell might work.

“Did you just compare Zee to an object?” Ro asked.  
“Really, it refers to any created or possessed object. Golems, doppelgangers, imaginary friends, weapons. Gorfydwr and Fragarach are actually pretty opinionated. And you don't even want to know about the tank.”

Then there was the Holy Grail, which one of her friends had in a china cabinet. 

“I knew it!” Dinah crowed. “You have sword envy.”  
“Ugh, no,” Zatanna replied, making a disgusted face. “Magical weapons hate going unused and some idiots always want to steal them. Anyway..” she focused on Zee, “Wohs flesrouy, ateZ.”  
The world proceeded to get weird. Fragments of the spell circled around the coffee shop. Zatanna tried to stop her spell. 

Ro caught glimpses of some of the scientists that had worked on Zeta: Selig, chatting with a rotund man, who she knew as Dr. Foley. Dr. Aguila, deep in conference with Dr. Arroyo. Dr. Katzmann, checking a screen, and writing things on a notepad. The chatter in the coffee shop gave way to shouts.  
00  
“You picked that shop deliberately,” Zatanna accused Dinah, who was slurping her coffee and grinning. They were five blocks away from the mall. Dinah had grabbed the coffee, towed everyone in her wake, and set off the fire alarm. She hoped 'natural gas leak' would make a good cover story.

“When in danger, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout,” Dinah quoted. “Nothing like a fire alarm for clearing the air. As long as we're here, what was that?”

Zatanna ducked her head, embarrassed. “A scrying spell. The one I used was meant to show me his memories. And it wasn't meant to affect the whole shop.”  
“So, why did it?” Zee asked.

“It bounced around and got magnified. Something about you just reflects magic. What are you made of?”  
“Hey, that's pretty personal,” Ro objected.

“I don't mind. Iron, mostly.”  
Zatanna frowned. “Meteoric iron does occasionally have some odd effects, but ordinary iron doesn't usually bother most magic users. Peregrine's the only one who's actually allergic to it, but he's half-faerie. And there's simply no way they could find enough meteors to make up the bulk of your frame.”

“Are you sure there's no Nth metal in you?” Dinah asked.

“I don't know what that is,” Zee admitted.

“The Hawks used it,” Dinah explained. “It has some odd properties; aside from being light-weight and insanely durable, it also shields anyone who's wearing it from psychic or magic attacks. When the Thanagarians got..well, evicted by the League, they left a lot of it behind.”

“According to my blueprints, I don't have any Nth metal in me.”

That was assuming the blueprints were accurate, and that Eli Selig's team hadn't altered them at all.

“I'm pretty sure IU7 was all iron,” Ro said. “Is Nth metal magnetic at all?”

“No,” Dinah said. “At least I don't think so.”

“Still, if even some of it got into your frame..” Zatanna mused.

“Hey, just so we're clear here, you can't just pull Selig here?” Ro demanded.

“No. Moving someone else by magic is..pretty complicated, actually. Again, I'd need something linked to him. Hair's usually the easiest to get ahold of. I could maybe teleport there, but I'd have to know where I'm going,” Zatanna replied. It occurred to her that Black Alice and Misfit could, but Misfit couldn't take anyone else with her, and Black Alice was too much of a wild card.

“Cops,” Ro said. “Why did it take them so long?”

“Unlike the fire department, the police department received a lot of construction alerts this morning,” Zee observed. “The sewer department's very active today.”  
Which would have been news to the sewer department. Since a lot of city departments didn't communicate, Zee had found he could send, say, the police department, false alerts, which they never double-checked. He didn't mess with the fire department or any ambulances. He wouldn't sacrifice a life- or lives- to save his own. Ro's life might be a different matter.

“Man, Babs doesn't know what she's missing,” Dinah said. “Well, see you two later. And that offer's always open.”  
She and Zatanna strolled off, while Ro and Zee headed to the opposite end of the street to get a taxi.   
“Who built that?” Zatanna demanded, once she was reasonably certain they were out of earshot. 

Or, at least, out of Ro's earshot. What had Dinah gotten them into?

“The government. Ollie always complains about the NSA's budget, and I guess we know why they wanted all that money now. And I'm pretty sure Zeta didn't come cheap, even though he walked off the job.”

Ollie's position as a senator- even though this was his last term, meant that they had some leverage with the NSA. Dinah figured she could use that. 

“I didn't know they let-uh-synthoids- do that.”

“They don't,” Dinah said sharply. “Even though Zeta's not quite what they ordered.”

“Ah. Dr. Foley..”

“Is one of ours. Well, supposedly. Ever since the second Civil War, Dakota's crew has been kind of on the outs with the League. Ollie and I were one of the few people who showed up for that.”

“I would have, Di, you know that, but..”

“You were dealing with a breakout of Fae that had to be contained before they took over England and then Europe. They understood. I don't know where the League was, but they weren't there, and Static and the others have never forgiven them for that.”

“That poor kid. I remember his induction.”

“We're men, men in tights, we roam around the forest looking for fights,” Dinah sang, laughing.

“Jeff nearly fell off his chair. And the expression on Ollie's face.”

“What about Bruce?”  
“He always looks like that. Though they got Jeff too, didn't they?”  
“Oh, yeah. 'Bring me the head of the disco king.' I thought Anissa was going to break a rib or three, she was laughing so hard.”

00  
Ro waited until they got to the hotel room to really lay into Zee.

“Why are you trying to get rid of me?”

“I need you to be safe. And you're not safe with me.”

“Oh, so I'd be safer with a complete and utter stranger?” 

“Yes. Dinah has a good reputation, and Sin, Roy Harper, Conner, and Lian have all turned out to be fine, well-functioning adults. Mostly- Harper's had a few struggles.”

“Why didn't you ask me first?”

“Because I know you'd say no.”

“Where are you even getting your information from?”

“Remember when we visited Gotham?” 

“Yes,” Ro said and blinked. “You didn't. Tell me you didn't hack Batman's computer.”

“It wasn't exactly hacking. I was in the car for about five minutes. The original Batman decided that it would be a good idea to link the car's computer to the mainframe in his base. I just used that link to create an access channel I could use even outside of Gotham, and downloaded the information I could use into my longterm memory.”

“So, basically..you know who everyone who's ever been in the League is? When they're not wearing spandex.”

“Up to a point. I focused on anyone who's likely to be a threat to me; Black Lightning and his daughters, Static, Superman, Power Woman, and anyone who was involved with the Birds of Prey. And Batman.”

“I thought you said a kid called Terry McGinnis is Batman.”

“Now, yes. Bruce Wayne created that persona. Dinah was my second choice. I think she's the better mentor, but in Gotham, you'd have help adjusting. I don't trust many people, but I trust Terry and Max.”

“Do you really want me to leave?” Ro asked.

“I want you to be safe,” he repeated.

Keeping Ro with him was stupid, selfish and could get her killed. Even if he liked the company.   
00  
“Found 'em!” Rush sang out. Five days after Christmas, the team had reconvened in Washington.

Bennett took off his glasses and massaged his forehead. “Where?”

“Nevada. They were pretending to inspect a DMV.”

Bennett frowned. “Either Zeta's trying to pull information off the 'net, or there's some other purpose we're not seeing. What's it doing in Nevada, anyway?”

“Maybe he's going to Vegas?” West suggested. 

“What for?” Rush retorted.

West scratched his head. “Showgirls? Sightseeing? Gambling?”

Rush sighed. “Sightseeing, maybe, but where would he park Rowan? She's underage..oh. That's why they were in the DMV. Picking up a license for the kid.”

“Ok, so Zeta gets them both into a casino. Then what?”

Rush considered, then dialed up the data. “Ah-hah. There we go. You remember Dr. Katzmann, boss?”

“Not well, but I think I ran into her once or twice.”

Rush tapped her tablet again.

“Well, she's into magic. Like seriously into it. Wants to be the next David Copperfield or Zatanna. And guess where she is.”

“Oh, no.”

“Oh yes. Las Vegas, going to the Xanadu for the Zatara family New Year's Eve show.”

Benett groaned and put his head in his hands. If he didn't know better, he'd swear Zeta was trolling them. The synthoid would lie low for weeks, once even a couple months, and then pop up somewhere completely and utterly unexpected. And this? Why hadn't he approached Dr. Katzmann at her workplace, or even at her home? Oh. Because Lightning lived in Las Roches, and she'd inherited all her father's powers and then some. 

“Someone get me Zatanna Zatara's agent. We need to be in the air in an hour, ladies and gentlemen.”  
00  
Zatanna was napping when her phone rang.  
“Hello?”  
“Is this Zatanna Zatara? I'm Agent Bennett of the National Security Agency.”  
“How can I help you?” she said, cheerfully.   
Though cheerful was the last thing she was feeling. She didn't need this. Rehearsal had gone badly one day before showtime, and Vanni was sulking in his own room. Over some girl he'd met.   
“We have intelligence that suggests a dangerous terrorist could be attempting to gain entrance to your show. I suggest you cancel.”

“The owner and I go way back. I can't cancel, and anyway, I can take care of myself. You don't have to worry about me.”

“The threat isn't to you, it's a member of your audience. There was a project which..um, escaped.”  
She sighed. “I believe I know what you're referring to, Agent Bennett. If I find whatever escaped, I'll return it to you. Giftwrapped.”

She hung up, before she exploded into giggles at Bennett's expression. The poor man looked like he swallowed a goldfish bowl.

She called Dinah. “Guess who I just got off the phone with. And what agency he works with.”

“Bennett, right? Of the NSA? If I have to deal with one more FBI dolt..”

“He seems to think Zeta's dangerous.”

The fact that Zeta had broken into the League's files was worrying, but didn't necessarily mean he was dangerous. She still didn't trust him. However, he'd gone to Dinah for help, and Dinah was willing to play along, so Zatanna was just going to sit tight and see how things played out.

“Oh, yes. A real desperado,” Dinah said mockingly. “Please. I've met more frightening dustbunnies.”

“So you don't think so?”

“I actually think these NSA guys are going to be more of a problem then Zeta ever would be. Tell me you talked them out of coming here.”

“Well, I tried, but I don't think Agent Bennett was listening.”  
“No worries, I'll get the family to cook up a distraction. They try anything..well, let's just say I am fully ok with a little property damage to make my point.”  
“Dinah.”  
“Ok, we'll buy the place if we need to.”  
“Why are you sticking your neck out for him? You know what he did in Gotham.”  
“Yes. But people change, Zatanna. Even robots.”


End file.
